To get rid of shin splints you generally need to do two things: take the load off the shinbone, and understand the reason it was overloaded. In practice that often means reducing the activity that causes pain, icing the sore area, stretching and strengthening the calf and shin, correcting your footwear and foot support, and rebuilding training gradually. Most cases settle within 2 to 6 weeks. The step most people skip is the last one, and it is why shin splints so often come straight back. If your arches collapse as you land, the muscles along your shinbone work harder every stride, and rest alone does not change that.
Below is the five step plan our Australian podiatrists use, a realistic healing timeline, and an honest answer on where support for shin splints actually fits in.
In this article
- What are shin splints, exactly?
- How do you get rid of shin splints? The 6 step plan
- How long do shin splints take to heal?
- Do insoles actually help shin splints?
- Can you keep running with shin splints?
- How do you stop shin splints coming back?
- When should you see a podiatrist?
- Frequently asked questions
What are shin splints, exactly?
"Shin splints" is the everyday name for medial tibial stress syndrome, an overload injury of the shinbone and the connective tissue attaching your calf and deep shin muscles to it. It presents as an ache along the inner edge of the shin, often spread over several centimetres rather than one pinpoint spot. The classic pattern is pain that appears early in a run, eases as you warm up, then returns worse afterwards.
Mayo Clinic lists the main risk factors as starting a running program, ramping up distance or intensity too quickly, hard or uneven surfaces, military style training, and having flat feet or high arches. That last point matters: a systematic review of risk factors in runners found increased navicular drop, a measure of how far the arch flattens under body weight, among the factors associated with the condition. If your foot rolls in heavily, the deep calf muscles decelerate that motion thousands of times per session, and that repeated braking load irritates the bone.
How do you get rid of shin splints? The 5 step plan
Step 1: Cut the load, do not stop moving
Reduce or pause the impact activity that reproduces the pain. Complete rest is not the goal. Try swimming, cycling, a rower or deep water running so you hold your fitness while the shin settles.
Step 2: Loosen the calf complex
Tight calves increase the pull on the back of the shin. Do a straight leg calf stretch and a bent knee soleus stretch against a wall, 30 seconds each side, twice a day. Add gentle foam rolling along the calf, staying off the bone itself.
Step 3: Strengthen what failed
Strength is what separates a recovery from a relapse, and the evidence on preventing shin splints points strongly towards neuromuscular and strength training. Start with double leg calf raises (3 sets of 15), progress to single leg, and add toe raises with your heels on a step. Finish with single leg balance work, 30 to 60 seconds a side.
Step 4: Fix the support under your foot
Check your shoes first. Running shoes lose meaningful midsole support somewhere between 600 and 800 kilometres, and worn out shoes are a common trigger. If your shoes are fine but your arch flattens noticeably when you stand, the support has to come from inside the shoe.
Step 5: Rebuild slowly
Once you can walk, hop and complete a strength session without pain, return to running gradually. Start at roughly half your previous volume, keep increases to about 10 percent a week, and stay on grass or a treadmill for the first fortnight.
How long do shin splints take to heal?
Recovery depends almost entirely on how early you act and whether you address the cause.
| Stage | Typical timeframe | What you should notice |
|---|---|---|
| Caught early (pain only after exercise) | 1 to 2 weeks | Tenderness fades with reduced load and daily stretching |
| Established (pain during exercise) | 2 to 6 weeks | Steady week on week improvement with the full five step plan |
| Long standing or recurrent | 6 weeks to 3 months | Slower, and usually needs footwear, foot posture and load all corrected |
| Return to full training | 2 to 4 weeks after pain stops | Graded build back, no pain during or the morning after |
If pain has not shifted after 3 weeks of genuine load reduction, get it assessed rather than pushing on.
Do insoles actually help shin splints?
Yes, but the type matters, and the research is refreshingly specific about which type. A 2025 systematic review and meta analysis of preventive interventions for shin splints concluded that neuromuscular training and pronation control insoles are worth using, while plain shock absorbing insoles should not be relied on. An earlier meta analysis found the same split: structured foot orthoses reduced overall injury and stress fracture rates, whereas soft shock absorbing inserts did not.
In other words, the squashy gel insert from the chemist is not the answer. Cushioning alone does not change how far your arch collapses on landing, which is the mechanism overloading the shin.
Designed by Australian podiatrists with structured arch support to control how far the arch flattens, a stabilising heel cup to keep the rearfoot aligned on landing, and a metatarsal dome that redistributes pressure under the ball of the foot. Included in the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG 441576) as a Class 1 medical device.
An insole is not a cure on its own. Think of it as the piece holding the correction in place while your strength work does the rebuilding. If you have flat feet or noticeable over-pronation, it is the difference between fixing the problem and resting it.
Can you keep running with shin splints?
Not at your usual volume. Running through shin pain is the most reliable way to turn a two week problem into a three month one, and occasionally into a tibial stress fracture.
Use the pain scale test. If shin pain stays at or below 2 out of 10 during a run, does not worsen as the run goes on, and is gone the next morning, a short easy run on a soft surface is usually acceptable.
How do you stop shin splints coming back?
Recurrence is common, and it is almost always down to one of five things.
- Training load. Keep weekly increases modest and take a lighter week every alternate week.
- Surface. Rotate surfaces. Endless concrete footpaths and road camber both add up.
- Footwear age. Replace running shoes at roughly 600 to 800 kilometres.
- Strength. Keep calf raises and single leg balance in your week permanently, not just while injured.
- Foot support. Support your foot in everything you wear, not only your runners.
That last point catches people out. If you run three times a week but spend forty hours in unsupportive work shoes, your shins are loaded far more outside training than in it.
Both the Full Length and Half Length Orthotic Insoles together, so your running shoes and your work or casual shoes are covered. Same podiatrist designed arch support and stabilising heel cup in each.
When should you see a podiatrist?
Book an assessment if the pain has not improved after 3 weeks of reduced load, if it is sharp and localised to one point on the bone, if it wakes you at night, or if this is the third or fourth time it has happened. A podiatrist will check your foot posture, gait, calf strength and footwear, and can screen for the conditions that mimic shin splints, including tibial stress fracture and chronic compartment syndrome.
Recurrent shin pain that travels to the knee is worth investigating too, since the same landing mechanics often drive both. Or browse the SOLE5 range to start with the support side yourself.
Frequently asked questions
How long do shin splints take to go away?
Most cases settle in 2 to 6 weeks when you reduce the aggravating activity, ice the area, stretch and strengthen the calf, and correct your footwear or foot support. Cases caught very early can settle in 1 to 2 weeks, while long standing or recurrent shin splints can take 6 weeks to 3 months. Expect another 2 to 4 weeks building back to full training after the pain stops.
Should I stop running completely with shin splints?
Not necessarily, but you do need to reduce the load. If the pain stays at or below 2 out of 10 during a run, does not worsen as you go, and is gone the next morning, short easy runs on a soft surface are usually acceptable. Otherwise, stop running and switch to swimming, cycling or deep water running until it settles.
Do insoles help shin splints?
Structured, pronation controlling insoles do help, while plain cushioning inserts generally do not. A 2025 systematic review and meta analysis of preventive interventions for shin splints supported pronation control insoles alongside neuromuscular training, and advised against relying on shock absorbing insoles. Cushioning alone does not change how far the arch collapses on landing.
What is the difference between shin splints and a stress fracture?
Shin splints usually produce a diffuse ache spread over several centimetres along the inner shin, and the pain tends to ease with rest. A tibial stress fracture is typically sharp, pinpoint over one small area of bone, often painful when you hop on that leg, and can hurt at rest or at night. Pinpoint bone pain or night pain should be assessed by a health professional.
Do I need custom orthotics for shin splints?
Most people do not. Podiatrist designed off the shelf orthotics provide the structured arch support and rearfoot control that the research links to lower injury rates, at a fraction of the cost and with no casting appointment. Custom devices are worth considering for complex foot types, significant leg length differences, or cases that have not responded to a well structured off the shelf device combined with strength work.
Take the load off your shins
SOLE5 Full Length Orthotic Insoles are designed by Australian podiatrists to control arch collapse, stabilise the heel on landing and relieve pressure under the forefoot, so your shins are not doing the work your feet should be.
Shop Full Length Orthotic Insoles →Included in the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG 441576) as a Class 1 medical device.
References:
- AAOS OrthoInfo - Shin Splints
- Mayo Clinic - Shin Splints Symptoms and Causes
- Cleveland Clinic - Shin Splints
- PubMed - Preventive Interventions for Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome
- PubMed - Risk Factors Associated with Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome in Runners
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